on the Future of U.S. Public Diplomacy on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 3:00 P.M. at 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building. Click here to view the ... hearing video or read the prepared statements submitted for public record.Witnesses:The Honorable Evelyn S. Lieberman Former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Director of Communications and Public Affairs The Smithsonian Institution Washington, DCThe Honorable Karen P. Hughes Former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Worldwide Vice Chair Burson-Marsteller Austin, TXThe Honorable James K. Glassman Former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Executive Director George W. Bush Institute Dallas, TXThe Honorable Judith A. McHale Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Department of State Washington, DC." See also. Image from

Foreign policy implications loom in genocide resolution - Mark Meirowitz, LoHud.com - "On March 4, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs made a major misstep by approving, by a razor-thin margin of 23-22, a historically erroneous and politically injudicious 'Armenian Genocide' resolution which, among other things, calls upon the president to 'accurately characterize' the historical events

concerning the Ottoman Empire's actions in Armenia as 'genocide.' U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, D-Bronx, voted for the resolution. It is no coincidence that the resolution, House Resolution 252, was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The jurisdiction of the committee includes oversight and legislation relating to national security developments affecting foreign policy, strategic planning and agreements and public diplomacy." Image from

Turkey Slams Azerbaijan for Not Doing More to Block Resolution - yerevanreport.com 22: "Although solidarity with Azerbaijan has led Turkey to tie the approval of the Armenian protocols to progress on Karabakh, there are questions as to whether Baku sufficiently opposed a recent Armenian Genocide resolution in the US Congress, reports Turkish news source Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review. A key partner in US- and EU-backed energy projects in the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan is a close ally of Turkey and has been locked in a frozen conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. 'The Azerbaijani calls for boycott campaigns in April-May 2009 were designed and conducted in a highly professional way. They have also been developing their public diplomacy toward Washington and Brussels on issues related to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh,' Burcu Gültekin Punsmann, senior foreign policy analyst at the Turkish think-tank TEPAV, told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview."

"Has th[e] accelerated pace of modern life -- popularized by pop sociologist Alvin Toffler in his 1970 book Future Shock -- had any effect on the practice of foreign policy? At first blush, the impact of technology would seem rather obvious. The speed of computing has reduced the decision time and increased the need to multitask for those in the military, those who interact with the global economy, and those who must apply spin to public diplomacy. ... Yet, technological quick fixes can't replace the slow and patient work of institution-building and diplomacy, even if our experience of the Internet leads us to expect otherwise." Image from

Public Diplomacy As A Weapon - Spencer Ackerman, Firedoglake (blog): "I really really like where Jim Glassman’s coming from here. Yes, I am swallowing my pride — Glassman co-wrote Dow 36,000 and is the executive director of the George W. Bush presidential library. But a good idea is a good idea, dammit! And Glassman’s proposal for public diplomacy not to merely highlight our awesomeness but our enemies’ crapitude is a very good idea."

Travel Promotion Act: A Win for US Economy and Taxpayers - Roger Dow and Jonathan Tisch, Huffington Post: "With unemployment remaining high and concerns growing about a jobless recovery, Congress recently passed legislation that promises to jumpstart travel, a critical sector of our economy. Best of all, this 'stimulus' plan won't cost taxpayers a single dime - in fact it will actually increase federal revenues and lower the federal budget deficit. The bill is called the Travel Promotion Act, and it was enacted with strong, bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate (78-18) and is on its way to the President for his signature. The Act establishes a new public-private partnership to promote the U.S. as a leading destination for international travelers and educate them about U.S. security procedures. This partnership will be funded by a modest $10 fee on overseas travelers who do not pay $131 for a U.S. visa and matched by the travel industry. ... While the primary benefits of the Travel Promotion Act are stronger growth and more job creation, research suggests that drawing more visitors to the U.S. will have ancillary advantages as well. According to a 2006 survey by RT Strategies, people who have visited the U.S. are 74 percent more likely to have a favorable opinion of our country. The U.S. government spends millions every year on public diplomacy and outreach efforts, but we're neglecting what may be one of the most persuasive strategies for winning overseas hearts and minds: a visit to the U.S.

By putting partisanship aside, Congress has delivered a Travel Promotion Act that will generate jobs, increase tax revenues and enhance U.S. competitiveness in a vital industry. That's a win-win proposition for the U.S. economy and for American taxpayers." Image from

Cervantino Diplomacy - Paul Rockower, Levantine: A PD twist on Cervantes: “I should think that your grace has pretty clearly attended lectures at a university. In what field?”“Public diplomacy,” replied Don Pablo Quijote, “which is quite as noble an undertaking as poetry, and even a bit more.”“I have no idea what branch of knowledge that might be,” said Don Lorenzo, “because till now I’ve never heard of it.”“It’s the kind of study,” said Don Pablo Quijote, “which embraces within itself all, or most, of the world’s knowledge ... ."

"Sendhil Mullainathan spoke at Ted India in November 2009 about inconsistencies within the brain that encourage counter-productive behaviors, even when humans may logically know better. I found his article both interesting from a humanitarian aid perspective as well as a public diplomacy lens. In summary, his point is that our world-view shapes reality and that humans may make decisions that eventually prove to be destructive without realizing it because intuition tells us otherwise." Image from

7Q10/H&C Leader Receives Global Citizen Award Huffman - nvwetlands.com: "The Northern Nevada International Center (NNIC) is located south of the main entrance to the beautiful campus of the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) and is a non-profit organization serving Nevada’s communities. We are a sponsored project of the University of Nevada, Reno and our main objective is to foster better understanding between people through our public diplomacy programs, our language and culture projects and our foreign policy forums. The Northern Nevada International Center provides a resource for local residents as well as visitors interested in international activities and events."

The ship’s goodwill missions abroad combined public diplomacy with aid. A study drawing on archival documents cites Project HOPE as an example of the pharmaceutical industry’s Cold War era strategy to defend itself against a congressional investigation into US drug pricing practices. Today, the bulk of Project HOPE’s programming and budget goes towards shipping and distributing brand-name drugs and medical supplies donated by pharmaceutical companies to developing countries." Image from

Secretary General underlines NATO's strategic interest in the security of all of all ICI partner countries - Defpro: "NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen paid his first official visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain on 7 and 8 March 2010, where he held bilateral meetings with King Ahmad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa and General Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force. Speaking in Manama at a public diplomacy dinner event, co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain and the recently established Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies, the Secretary General said: 'Why is our partnership so important? In a nutshell, because NATO and ICI countries face common security challenges and threats – challenges and threats, such as failed states, terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, piracy and energy security.'"

So it is vexing that 20 years on, Russia continues to view NATO as a hostile alliance. ... The alliance's new strategic concept - its key guiding document, an update of which is due in the autumn – will not fundamentally change Russia's views. But many speakers at a recent seminar which the CER co-organised with NATO's public diplomacy division concluded that the document could be instrumental in unifying the allies' views on Russia, and in clarifying NATO's intentions towards Moscow." Image from

The Spanish disease - Jerusalem Post: "[W]e [cannot] expect tremendous results from Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein’s new idea to conscript ordinary Israelis, who happen to be traveling abroad, to fight the PR fight, no matter how much we arm them with the 'tools and tips.' A positive start would be to streamline PR. It makes no sense to disperse responsibility among the Foreign Ministry, the IDF Spokesman’s Office, the Government Press Office and Edelstein’s new project, not to mention the apparatus Ehud Olmert established in the Prime Minister’s Office, as well as a new grouping being overseen by Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon. Even the best public diplomacy, of course, however, will not eradicate ingrained Spanish anti-Semitism. That’s a challenge for Spain to meet. Nor can we expect tremendous results from Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein's new idea to conscript ordinary Israelis, who happen to be traveling."

Reaching the Public: Istanbul 2010 – An Opportunity for Branding - Efe, efesevin.wordpress.com: "A few weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me what Istanbul 2010 was. She saw Istanbul 2010 ads at Heathrow Airport in London, but didn’t have much idea about what exactly the ads tried to say. Istanbul has been selected as the European Capital of Culture 2010.

Hosting international events, and being recognized by international organizations are good opportunities for promoting a place. Given the variety of events and images you can promote under ‘culture’, it is also a good branding opportunity. So how well did Turkey use it? … In short, ECOC is a good regional promotion opportunity. Istanbul 2010 is a successful campaign. It might have been better if more communication/public diplomacy and less advertising techniques were used." Image from

Size Doesn't Matter Israel's advocates engage sexual puns in defense of the Jewish state - Benjamin Joffe-Walt, The Media Line: "Over the years, Israel and its advocates have employed a wide diversity of tactics in defense of the Jewish state's image: extensive tourism marketing, cultural exchanges, sister city agreements, social network campaigns, emissaries sent all over the world. But pro-Israel advocates in Canada have lately taken Israel's public diplomacy war to a new level: audacious penis jokes.'Uuuugh,' says a young woman lying in bed with her ostensibly naked boyfriend, looking towards his pelvic region. 'Don't be mad, but it's small. I just, I don't know if I can go there.' 'I consider this a spot of worship,' the boyfriend replies, somewhat shocked. 'It may be small, but it's brought the driest places to life. Baby this is paradise.' ... The video, which has been viewed by over 90,000 people on YouTube and another 66,000 on the campaign's website, ends with the campaign banner: 'Size Doesn't Matter' campaign, 'Israel. Small country, big paradise.'"

Better ammunition - James Adler, Cambridge, Massachusetts, letter to the Editor, Jerusalem Post: "Sir, – The Post has recently run much news and comment on failed hasbara (public diplomacy) encounters with delegitimization efforts. Is hasbara a serious attempt to engage the educated Western world? Any educated Westerner knows that putting half a million Israelis into the mere 20-percent residue of Mandatory Palestine left for the Palestinians has constituted for decades a standing rebuke to the two-state solution. How else could Palestinians have seen it, as actions continually speak louder than words? Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has only recently – and reluctantly – accepted the two-state solution.More effective hasbara would say that settlements have badly hurt rather than helped Israel, but that this doesn’t affect Israel’s basic legitimacy as a state any more than other countries’ mistakes."

Zumas' idea - Shanna, The New Diplomacy 2010 B: A Reflective Group Blog by Some of the Students on the New Diplomacy Module at London Metropolitan University: "Public diplomacy only becomes relevant with the development of globalization yet we cannot disregard ‘old’ diplomacy as secret meetings surely took place." See also.

It’s Up to Iraqis Now. Good Luck - Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times: President Obama has handled his Iraq inheritance deftly, but he is committed to the withdrawal timetable. As such, our influence there will be less decisive every day.

Washington’s Cult of Narcissism and Iraq - Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch: Terrible prophesies about Iraq’s future without us may multiply. And make no mistake, terrible things could indeed happen in Iraq. They could happen while we are there. They could happen with us gone. But history delivers its surprises more regularly than we imagine -- even in Iraq. In the meantime, it’s worth keeping in mind that not even Americans can occupy the future. It belongs to no one.

Propaganda posters competition on national events launched - Nhan Dan: A competition on propaganda posters was launched in Hanoi yesterday to mark the 65th anniversary of August Revolution and the National Day (September 2). A photo contest with the theme on people’s cultural life was also opened on the same day.

Propaganda posters should feature national grand events and achievements recorded during the past 65 years whereas photos must highlight the people’s unity in building up a new cultural lifestyle. The two contests are eligible for all Vietnamese professional and amateur artists at home and abroad. The contests are organised by the Hanoi Culture Department, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Image from article

1 comment:

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About Me

a Princeton PhD, was a US diplomat for over 20 years, mostly in Eastern Europe, and was promoted to the Senior Foreign Service in 1997. For the "Open World Leadership Center Trust Fund" program, he lectures to its participants on the topic of "E Pluribus Unum? What Keeps the United States United." Currently affiliated with Georgetown University, he writes and shares ideas about public diplomacy. He is particularly interested in the relationship between public diplomacy and propaganda.
The papers of his deceased father -- poet and diplomat John L. Brown -- are stored at Georgetown University Special Collections at the Lauinger Library. A partial description of these papers (some 80 boxes of material, valuable to researchers interested in post-WWII U.S.-European cultural relations) is available online.
This blog is dedicated to him, Dr. John Lackey Brown, who wrote in the Foreign Service Journal (1964): "The CAO [Cultural Affairs Officer] soon comes to realize that his job is really a form of love-making and that making love is never really successful unless both partners are participating." These wise and tender words were written years before "soft power" was ever coined.